The Knoxville Museum of Art's 'Thorne Rooms' are among America's most well-known miniature diorama groups. The 'Thorne Rooms' were developed in the 1930s and 40s by Mrs. James Ward Thorne, Chicago, who loved dollhouses as a child. After extensive travels in Europe where she collected miniature furniture and accessories, Thorne had over two dozen miniature rooms created by cabinetmakers from her own drawings. They were made in a scale of one inch to one foot. She painted and stained woodwork, papered walls and made textiles for the rooms.

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